The Cheapest Day Trips Abroad in December 2026, Ranked
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The cheapest day trips abroad for December 2026 are Cork and Shannon from Manchester at £28.00 return. Cork is £28.00 on three different Tuesdays, with about 11.8 hours there. Six more come in at £36.00 or less.
Straight to it. These are the eight cheapest day trips abroad we've got for December, one per city, cheapest last.
How we got them. We went through every December day on our boards from 16 UK airports and kept only the ones with a real fare for a real date. Fares are return, per person, checked on 28 October 2026.
8. Turin from Stansted, £36.00
Monday 14 December, Ryanair. Out at 06:05, home at 22:25, landing 23:25. About 13.3 hours, the longest day in the eight.
Train to Porta Susa, about 30 minutes, €3.70. The Museo Egizio is €18.00, and the lift up the Mole Antonelliana is €9.00 for the view over the city. Sunday 6 December is also £36.00 with a later 09:45 start if you'd rather not get up at silly o'clock. See the Turin day
7. Tirana from Stansted, £34.00
Monday 7 December, Ryanair. Out at 06:00, home at 21:40, landing 23:45. About 11.8 hours in Albania's capital.
Take the Rinas Express in, about 35 minutes, 400 lek, roughly €4.00. The cheaper city bus stops going back to the airport at 18:00, way too early for this flight, so don't rely on it. Monday 14 December was £36.00. See the Tirana day
6. Milan Malpensa from Stansted, £33.00
Monday 14 December, Ryanair. Out at 06:10, home at 21:55, landing 23:00. About 12.8 hours.
Malpensa is a fair way out. The Malpensa Express takes 50 minutes and a same-day return is €25.00. The Air Pullman coach to Milano Centrale is cheaper at €16.00 return. Monday 7 December was £45.00, so the 14th is the one. See the Malpensa day
5. Dublin from Bristol, £31.00
Tuesday 8 December, Ryanair. Out at 07:00, home at 20:45, landing 21:50. About 12.7 hours.
Aircoach is €12.00 return and about 30 minutes. The €8.00 Leap Visitor Card covers the airport bus and the whole city, but it's 50 to 70 minutes each way. Tuesday 15 December was £44.00. The Book of Kells is €25.00. See the Dublin day
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4. Milan Bergamo from Stansted, £30.00
Wednesday 2 December, Ryanair. Out at 07:45, home at 21:45, landing 22:50. About 11.1 hours.
Two Milan airports in the eight, so here's the difference. Bergamo is a city of its own and the airport sits right by it. The coach to Milano Centrale takes 50 to 60 minutes and it's €9.00 one way online. Or just stay in Bergamo. Monday 14 December was £32.00 and Tuesday 1 December £33.00. See the Bergamo day
3. Knock from Luton, £29.00
Thursday 10 December, Ryanair. Out at 08:45, home at 18:40, landing 19:55. About 8.4 hours in the west of Ireland, and home before eight.
Bus Éireann 64 from the airport is 20 to 25 minutes and €13.00. Every priced Knock day we found was a Thursday. Thursday 17 December was £35.00 and Thursday 3 December £38.00. See the Knock day
2. Shannon from Manchester, £28.00
Sunday 13 December, Ryanair. Out at 06:15, home at 20:15, landing 21:30. About 12.8 hours. The only weekend day in the eight.
Shannon airport isn't in a city, so plan for that. Bus Éireann 343 gets you to Limerick in about 45 minutes, and route 330 goes to Ennis. In Limerick the Hunt Museum is €12.50 and St Mary's Cathedral €5.00. Sunday 20 December was £33.00 on the same flights. See the Shannon day
1. Cork from Manchester, £28.00
Tuesday 1 December, Ryanair. Out at 06:55, home at 20:00, landing 21:15. About 11.8 hours in Cork.
Joint cheapest with Shannon, but Cork gets the top spot because it's £28.00 on three Tuesdays, the 1st, 8th and 15th. Wednesday 16 December was £29.00. So you can pick your week.
The bus in is about 25 minutes and €8.00. Get breakfast in the English Market, walk the river, and you've still got the whole afternoon. Cork City Gaol is €12.00 and St Fin Barre's Cathedral €8.00. Blarney Castle is €24.00 but it's out of town. See the Cork day
Seven of the eight are Irish or Italian airports, which tells you where the cheap seats are this December. None of them need an overnight stay, and all eight are back in the UK the same night.
What the cheapest day actually costs
Take Cork. £28.00 for the flights, then €8.00 each way on the bus, plus lunch and a coffee. The Cork trip page adds all of that up for the date, every line shown, so you see the whole day and not just the fare.
It matters more than you'd think. On a £28.00 day the airport bus adds about half the fare again. At Malpensa the train back and forth is about two thirds of the fare. That's why we show it.
How to find fares like these yourself
- Go midweek. Five of the eight are on a Monday or a Tuesday.
- Take the first flight out. Seven of the eight leave between 06:00 and 08:00, and that's what makes the long day.
- Look at Ireland. Twelve of the 15 cheapest December routes we found go there.
- Check the airport transfer as well as the fare. It can change which trip is actually the cheapest.
Quick answers
Are these prices per person? Yes. Return, for one adult.
Will they still be this price? Maybe not. We checked on 28 October. Open the trip page for today's fare.
Which day is cheapest? Mondays and Tuesdays make up five of the eight. Shannon on a Sunday is the only weekend one.
Can I go from another airport? Yes. Search day trips from your nearest one for December.
Fancy sun over rain? Our winter sun day trips for December start at £37.00 return.
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